RIJ K9

13/04/2025

Important advice here about what to do (and what NOT to do) if approached and attacked by a dangerous dog.

Chucking cheese isn’t going to help you here! A spare slip lead will.

11/04/2025

Are you the experienced teacher described here? Or the substitute?

You will know straight away. If it’s the latter, give me a call/message 😉

The experienced, no-nonsense teacher has done this thousands of times. This grants them an air of confidence, certainty, and the actual skills to handle whatever challenges come their way with ease. They’ve seen it all before, they’ve handled it all before, and that vibe and tone is conveyed in every aspect of interaction… and is clearly understood by the class.

Conversely, the inexperienced substitute teacher is new to it all. They’re deeply committed, but their lack of experience is palpable. It comes across as hesitancy, uncertainty, and timidity — or they fake it with false confidence and manufactured firmness — all of which are seen through by the class for what they are, and of course are played with, pushed, and taken advantage of.

And to be clear, it’s not that the kids, or your dog, are monsters, it’s simply that we’re all opportunists. We see what’s on offer, and if it corresponds to what we desire in that moment, and if there’s nothing to restrict acting on it, we do it.

Of course there’s some nuance as well. Personality has an enormous amount to do with both species’ degree of rule pushing and authority questioning. Extremely soft personalities won’t change all that much when the “environment” changes (the gentle reminder of rules and boundaries are more than sufficient), but your firmer ones, oh boy. And once the firmer ones get the mediums going, it’s on. This goes for classrooms and multi-dog homes.

But back to you and your dog. There’s simply no shortcut for doing the work to gain the skills and experience that will cause your dog to view you, and themselves in the most healthy and favorable fashion. So please don’t be surprised when your trainer gets something from your dog that you can’t. It’s not a forever thing — unless you let it be that. Like all the other valuable skills you’ve developed in your life, they’ve likely taken a great deal of time and dedication to transform from bungling to “wow, not so bad”.

The dog thing is no different. But us humans are funny with this one — because we’ve lived with dogs for so long, and because they’re everywhere and in nearly every home, we assume we should just “know” how to do this dog thing. We don’t. Instead, embrace the fact that you’re the substitute teacher — for the moment — and bust your behind to gain the skills and confidence you need to create the harmony and connection you desire so you too can have the “class” that is the envy of the neighborhood.

07/04/2025

Play this for your dog and watch their reaction 😅

06/04/2025

Saw show dog Otis for an an assessment today, his owner admitting he’s quite pampered 😅

He’ll do anything for a treat, but not as much without one! Recall being the main issue. We looked at how to use a long line to start addressing this.

06/04/2025

I don't train dogs to swim, but Rocky does 😆

Mattie here always had it in him, but had never gone beyond where his feet could touch the bottom. But seeing Rocky do it perhaps gave him the confidence to have a go.

This was during our rather warm training session on Friday, I think they both needed to cool off a bit!

05/04/2025

Assessed Scooby this morning for lead walking and recall issues. Delightful chap, but an absolute tank on the lead!

His owner has been struggling for a while now, and had resorted to a figure 8 slip lead, and more recently a halti, both of which were putting his snout and eyes under strain and causing irritation and cuts. Without these hewas pulling himself hoarse and with his strength, likely damaging his throat.

Took him out in the halti and he was predictably rolling on the grass wiping his face to get the thing off… and still pulling like a tank. It was clear his current equipment setup wasn’t working for either him or his owner.

She’d tried every combination of lead, collar and harness and nothing was working. Almost every collar anyway…

I don’t always reach for the prong collar for cases like this, usually prefer to start with a slip lead or martingale and work from there, but given all the options exhausted so far, I was sure this would be the best choice to establish a baseline of control and comfort we can work with.

Client very happy with the results, and placing an order with Vonwolf K9 Sport and Service Dog Training Equipment for their own collar. And Scooby visibly happier and more comfortable.

Follow up session booked so we can work on getting Scooby to hold back enough that he’s not even putting pressure on at all, it’s important to do this as well as using appropriate equipment.

Also had time to introduce a long line and how to manage the slack and give Scooby some much needed room to go sniff and explore.

Looking forward to working with these guys again!

05/04/2025

Buddy (the Husky) had not been off lead anywhere other than a secure field for nearly a year, but we got him free with housemate Max this week!

05/04/2025

❤️

If your dog steals your shoe…

Remember a couple of things. One is, it’s just a shoe and it’s totally replaceable… Your dog is not replaceable. Someday you will wish you could see your dog chewing on that shoe, but then it will be too late. Listen to me today.

The shoe must mean less to you than your dog, and to be angry about it simply doesn’t make sense. Just take the shoe away and accept the fact that the reason your dog chose that shoe is because he’s trying to be close to you. The shoe smells like you and it’s that odor that your dog is searching. It’s a normal reaction to be frustrated when a dog does this, but take a deep breath and remember what I’m telling you here.

Take the shoe give your dog a pat on the head and put the shoe away. If you make a big deal about it chances are you’ll make the situation worse… Or you’ll destroy the bond between you and your dog. Make sure your dog has something to chew on that he’s allowed to chew on because dogs like to chew especially young dogs and puppies.

Maybe go out and buy him a chew toy and when you see him chewing on your shoe, give him a chew toy and a pat on the head.

It’s only a shoe… Your dog is a million times more valuable than any shoe!

31/03/2025

Did you know that German shepherd puppies are often returned in their first year?

I know these dogs inside and out, the highs and lows. I firmly believe there is no breed more rewarding IF you put in the effort at the crucial phases.

You’ll never have a more loyal friend!

If you’re struggling with yours, at any age, get in touch.

UPDATE ALERT 🚨🚨. Did you know that German shepherd PUPPIES are often returned their first year? Shelters are overrun with German shepherds because people simple don’t understand the breed before they get them?? They like to puppy bite and cause a lot of trouble and most people get overwhelmed by it. But I always give the same advice. Find a trainer that can help you because once they turn 1.5 years old they will calm and turn into the best friend you have ever had. So if you are struggling with a German shepherd puppy. DONT GIVE UP!!

27/03/2025

Great second session with Odin late afternoon today, working on his lead walking (he pulls like a tank!) and introducing him to a long line in prep for some recall training. He’s a fantastic dog, as strong as they come. Just the sort I enjoy working with the most.

25/03/2025

It is important that people can recognise pseudo-science dog training advice when they see it. There is a lot of it around.

This is a perfect example.

Of course you can reinforce fear. Please don’t.

Let me say this louder for the people stuck in behavior advice from the 90's 📢

YOU CANNOT REINFORCE FEAR.

Fear isn’t a behavior—it’s an automatic, emotional response, like a fire alarm going off inside the brain.

Offering comfort and safety when a dog is afraid doesn’t ‘reward’ the alarm—it helps relieve the panic.

The outdated belief that reassurance strengthens fear is simply false.

It's not my opinion.

This is simply neurobiology.

Many individuals—particularly those who claim authority as dog trainers or professionals but lack formal education in animal behavior—often advise ignoring a dog’s fearful behavior.

This advice stems from outdated, dominance-based models.

These models incorrectly attribute fear-driven behaviors to a lack of leadership, control, or “alpha” status. Because they misunderstand fear responses as challenges to authority or as behaviors to be suppressed.

Sadly, they fail to recognize fear as an emotional state requiring support and co-regulation.

Instead, they focus on extinguishing behaviors.

When we offer comfort to a dog experiencing fear, it’s common to see the dog seeking even more reassurance.

To an uneducated eye, this may look like the behavior is worsening.

However, what’s actually happening is that the dog is beginning to trust the human as a source of safety and regulation.

This is a positive indicator of relationship-building and emotional resilience, laying the groundwork for longer-term behavioral stability.

🚨 PLEASE SHARE THIS to help others understand it's okay to comfort a scared dog!

And follow .plus.dogs for more truthful dog behavior advice

24/03/2025

Star pupil Mattie and his owner Kris. Building and utilising ball drive in training. Lots of applications, and loads of fun!

24/03/2025

The best advert I have for my business and everything I have to offer as a dog trainer, is my dog Rocky.

If you’re thinking of hiring me, feel free to ask to see him with me, he’s always available for training sessions.

You’ll want the sort of relationship and bond we share for yourself and your dog. It’s built on trust, consistency, boundaries, respect… and having a lot of fun!

22/03/2025

This is a fantastic way to understand reactivity, and how best to tackle it!

So many of you struggling with reactivity issues need to do two things:

1/ Digest and process this simple formula, memorize it, and do not attempt to make it more complicated than it is.

2/ Stop allowing your reactive dog to look at other dogs.

Owners, once you truly *get* number one, and you see the clear sequence that takes you from relaxed/neutral dog to exploding dog, you are now empowered to solve the problem.

Of course the training universe will attempt to make reactivity into something profoundly complex — which will cause you to hesitate and second guess… which will cause you to fail. It’s not complex — not when it comes to how the reactivity escalation sequence works. Don’t let the multitude of online experts mislead you. Keep it simple, and you’ll succeed.

As for number two, this is also simple. Truly reactive dogs are unable to look at other dogs without moving — within milliseconds — onto the “lock”, and once locked on the “load” and “launch” come wildly fast and are often impossible to stop.

But because owners think: “Maybe he/she won’t do it this time.”, or “I don’t want to create a negative association.”, or “I want my dog to enjoy the sight of other dogs and make friends.”, or prior to this post you simply didn’t fully understand that looking was the gateway to the explosion… you allow the look.

Instead of doing what all the other owners who are struggling with reactivity are doing, do something different. Understand the reactivity escalation sequence, and knowing how it works, simply correct your reactive dog for attempting to get the sequence rolling by looking at prospective targets.

Yes, initially, we teach seriously reactive dogs not to look at other dogs — because they don’t know how to do so in a healthy fashion. And no, it doesn’t create a negative association — it begins to disarm the already existing negative association and gives you the chance to help your dog see other dogs from an emotionally neutral, and thus healthy standpoint. Over time, as your dog becomes more and more neutral (naturally counter-conditioning themselves) around dogs, you can slowly, incrementally, organically start to explore your dog’s limits and abilities. Perhaps, in a few months, your dog will be able to look at other dogs without escalation. Perhaps it will take more time. And perhaps you’ve got a very serious customer (a 1%er) who even after great amounts of time and effort still can’t look at dogs without racing through the R.E.S. Happily, these dogs are extremely rare — and thus why they’re called 1%ers. 🙂

PS, please for the love of all that is holy in actually successful dog training: don’t use food to try to redirect your reactive dog. Correct the looking behavior firmly and give your dog clear guidance/information about what is and isn’t desired/allowed. Because, if your dog is truly reactive, they won’t care what high-value food item you’re waiving in front of them — they will just continue to stare, and now you’re screwed.

PPS, sorry to say, if your reactive dog will take food, and disengage from the trigger/target, then you don’t have a reactive dog. True reactivity will ignore food every time, or will take it and go right back to the stare — and if they will take it, congratulations, now you’re training your dog to be reactive.